Speaking at the conference 'Spirit of Adventure Play is Alive and Kicking' organised by Play Wales recently, she said, 'The policy is founded on the principle of Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, recognising the importance of play. It goes on to state that play is the learning process through which human kind has developed. In the words of Lloyd George "Play is nature's training for life."
'The policy identifies the central feature of play - the fact that it is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated. Or, to put it more succinctly in the words of one child - "Play is what I do when everyone else has stopped telling me what to do." The play policy also acknowledges that modern society has reduced children's opportunities to play, so that there must be compensatory provision.
Next year Sure Start, the Childcare Strategy and the Children and Youth Partnership Fund will merge into a single scheme known as Cymorth, the Children and Youth Support Fund which will support centres offering early years education, childcare and open access play.
